 I felt like a wacky puritanical nut-job. It was a birthday party of a friend a couple years ago and I had finally realized that regularly consuming sugar and alcohol messed with my mind. In other words, if I wasn’t careful I would start to want cupcakes or wine to deal with every moment of my life. I was trying to figure out just how much I could consume in order for cravings to not take over. That meant that I had to take breaks and I had already decided that the birthday party wouldn’t be a good time for me to tempt fate too much. I drank water and stayed away from the feast, but happily ate the amazing meal our host provided. I had a great time until another mom noticed that I hadn’t had any of the birthday cake. I made the mistake of explaining why and all the sudden felt like a freak. The mom had so many questions coupled with a lot of poor advice and excuses for her own consumption of cake. Then she went and told a couple other ladies at the party.
It felt so awkward. Plus, I could tell that my choices had made them feel uncomfortable, too. I learned so much from that moment, namely that often the best thing to do is let your yes be yes and your no be no and give as little details as possible (see Day 3). I also feel like it is incredibly important to embrace the truth that every precious person on this planet is on their own path. Only God knows the plans He has for them. Each one of us tackles problems and issues in the exact order that God has lined out for our unique journey. However, people are still going to react to our choices. In 1 Peter 4:4 the disciple even writes, “Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.” This will be so true for the people that do not truly know and love you and simply feel judged by your choices. Hold space for these moments, guarding your heart and holding on to the truth that you are growing healthier every moment. Journal Prompt: What is the essential truth behind why you are making these changes? If someone has been unpleasant about your choices, why do you think they reacted that way? How can you give others grace when they don’t understand?
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by Lora Armendariz
You Can Do It!Do you want to fall out of love with a destructive habit? The first 42 episodes of this podcast are a resource for anyone who wants encouragement and information as they take a six week break from a habit in order to fall out of love with it. Archives
September 2023
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